Sometime over the next two weeks, you’re going to see a small chapel appear in our worship space. It’s going to take the place of the “Kidz Zone,” though at my request, the giant panda will remain sitting somewhere in the congregation. Preaching to a panda every Sunday helps to remind me not to take myself too seriously.

Initially, this will be the Chapel of Repose, where the consecrated host will rest following the stripping of the altar on Maundy Thursday, and where our all-night vigil will take place.

But after that, if we like it, we can keep it there. If we don’t like it, we can return it to the room in the basement where it has been sitting unused for a very long time.

There is much to commend the idea of having an upstairs chapel. Depending on how we configure it, it will contain an altar and two or three small pews, able to seat six to nine people. That would be an ideal space for our Wednesday noon Eucharist. It would be a good place to say Morning or Evening Prayer. It might also be a spot conducive to private prayer. And of course it’s much more convenient upstairs than it is downstairs.

On the other hand, until we actually get it moved upstairs and set up, we don’t really know how it will look or if it will feel crowded or in the way. Or perhaps there will be better ways to configure it, and that might take us awhile to determine. It’s okay to conclude that it’s fine for Holy Week, but not for the other 51 weeks of the year. You never know until you try.

In any case, I welcome your feedback. Please let me know what you think of the chapel, and how we could best arrange it. Also, if we do decide to keep the chapel upstairs, that would open up a room downstairs for a new use. Maybe a library? Maybe a St. James Heritage Room? A meeting room? We have multiple options. Put on your thinking caps and let’s see what we can come up with.